2 Charged With Attempted Rape In San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) – Two San Rafael men were arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman on her way to work Sunday morning, a San Rafael police spokeswoman said.

Police received a call around 5:40 a.m. reporting a woman screaming for help at 60 Fairfax St. in San Rafael, spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said.

The caller said two men were trying to rape a woman on the street outside her apartment, Rohrbacher said.

When two police officers arrived, they saw the men assaulting the woman, who was lying on the sidewalk. The suspects fled in different directions but were both taken into custody after the officers used Tasers to detain them, Rohrbacher said.

Cristobal Alvarado, 27, and Alex Lopez Maldonado, 21, were booked into Marin County Jail on charges of assault with intent to commit rape, false imprisonment, sexual battery, criminal threats, attempted rape in concert and battery on a police officer, Rohrbacher said. Their bail is $100,000 each.

The 49-year-old victim did not know her assailants, Rohrbacher said.

She was walking to her car to drive to work when she passed by the two men on the sidewalk and they attacked her, Rohrbacher said.

The suspects forced her on the ground, threatened her life if she resisted and attempted to take her clothes off, Rohrbacher said.

Both men told the woman they intended to have sexual intercourse with her, but they were interrupted when the two officers arrived, Rohrbacher said.

The victim suffered scrapes and bruises during the assault, Rohrbacher said.

Rohrbacher said there are 20-30 sexual assaults reported in San Rafael each year. She said most of the victims know their assailants, and that sexual assaults by strangers are rare.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

One Comment

It doesn’t take much to pick up the phone when someone is calling for help, but I bet it meant the world to that woman. Thanks for beating the odds and helping when so many others might not have wanted to “get involved”.